Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Popular Searches
Nearby Words

incunabular

 - 2 dictionary results

in⋅cu⋅nab⋅u⋅la

  [in-kyoo-nab-yuh-luh, ing-]
Use incunabular in a Sentence
–plural noun, singular -lum  [-luhm] .
1. extant copies of books produced in the earliest stages (before 1501) of printing from movable type.
2. the earliest stages or first traces of anything.
Origin:
1815–25; < L: straps holding a baby in a cradle, earliest home, birthplace, prob. equiv. to *incūnā(re) to place in a cradle (in- in- 2 + *-cūnāre, v. deriv. of cūnae cradle) + -bula, pl. of -bulum suffix of instrument; def. 1 as trans. of G Wiegendrucke

Related forms:
in⋅cu⋅nab⋅u⋅lar, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To incunabular
in·cu·nab·u·lum   (ĭn'kyə-nāb'yə-ləm, ĭng'-)   
n.   pl. in·cu·nab·u·la (-lə)

  1. A book printed before 1501; an incunable.

  2. An artifact of an early period.


[New Latin incūnābulum, from sing. of Latin incūnābula, swaddling clothes, cradle : in-, in; see in-2 + cūnābula, cradle, infancy (from cūnae, cradle; see kei-1 in Indo-European roots).]
in'cu·nab'u·lar (-lər) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see incunabular on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way